Young People in Kyrgyzstan Learn to Combat Conflict Through Sports

This August, 50 young people representing seven ethnicities traveled from all over Kyrgyzstan to participate in a Youth Sports Camp in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. The camp was led by five coaches who participated in an exchange trip to the United States back in April, with the assistance of several other coaches, IREX staff, and two Peace Corps Volunteers.  This Camp was one of the culminating activities in the Kyrgyzstan Innovations in Coaching Kids (KICK) program, an ECA-funded initiative that empowers high school gym teachers to promote tolerance and inter-ethnic dialogue and interaction amongst their students.  The young participants ranged in age from 14-16, and represented the Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Russian, Uyghur, Dungan and Tartar ethnic groups.  Many of these youth came from ethnically homogeneous communities, and had very limited experience interacting with peers of other ethnicities before arriving at the camp. 

The sessions at the Camp balanced athletic competition and games with conversations on tolerance, leadership, conflict resolution, and gender equality.  Participants were encouraged to appreciate their differences and uniqueness and simultaneously embrace their similarities and work collaboratively and cross-ethnically to overcome challenges and build new friendships. A special emphasis was placed on encouraging leadership among the participating girls, and empowering both the boys and girls to see one another as worthy, respected teammates and opponents. The youth also learned how to play new sports including Mat Ball and Frisbee—sports that the coaches learned through the KICK program.

For all of the youth, the Camp was a powerful, even transformative, experience. Many of them were impressed at how quickly they made friends with the other campers; one remarked that she built new friendships “right when our buses arrived in Issyk kul.”  14 year old Elvina Kudaibergenova developed a new appreciation for the benefit of sports:  “I've learnt that conflict can be prevented or resolved with the help of sports…Before I thought that conflict can be solved with fights or words, now I know that you can use sports too.” For 15 year old Askarbek Uulu, he was grateful to have gained new motivation to be a better person: “I felt very motivated to be tolerant, to treat both genders equally, and to respect everyone who surrounds me” and he added “(I learned in the leadership training) that you have to consider every team member’s opinion, and listen to each other to come to a mutual decision… I see positive changes in myself.”  Aijarkyn Asilbekova, a young woman from a remote area of southern Kyrgyzstan was greatly impacted by the empowering role for women and girls fostered at the camp: “It has been eye-opening to me that the girls are playing and competing with boys on an equal basis on the same team.  Girls make their own decisions as to whether to pass a ball or get somebody out on the opposite team, and they do so despite the pressure from the boys on their team.  I have learned not to be intimidated by the male presence and domination."

The coaches and Peace Corps volunteers observed similar positive growth in the students, and one of the coaches, Svetlana Khalmirzaeva, has even been motivated by her participation in the camp and other KICK activities to hold workshops with coaches from throughout Bishkek to help them implement similar activities in their schools.  These workshops are supported by the Kyrgyz government and demonstrate the broadening impact of the KICK program goals.

Stay tuned for more stories about the impact that the KICK coaches are having in their communities and throughout Kyrgyzstan.